A structure in which a fender panel is attached to an upper end portion of an apron reinforcement member via brackets has been conventionally known, the apron reinforcement member extending in the front-rear direction of the chassis (c.f. Patent Document 1). In addition to the primary fender support function of supporting the fender panel, it is required for the brackets to have a function of reducing damage to a colliding body (such as a pedestrian) hit by the vehicle and thrown on the hood, i.e., an impact force absorbing function for absorbing an impact force which the colliding body receives from the hood. In addition to these functions, it is required for the brackets to have a load reception function for receiving a load, which is caused when the hood is closed, if a hood stopper is attached to the brackets.
A side chassis structure described in Patent Document 2 includes an apron reinforcement member and a fender panel which is supported on the apron reinforcement member via a bracket. The front end portion of the apron reinforcement member is connected to a front side frame. The bracket includes leg portions and an attachment surface portion. The leg portions extend outward in the vehicle width direction and diagonally upward. The leg portions are connected to an upper surface of the apron reinforcement member. A support portion is formed on the attachment surface portion in order to support the fender panel.
A hood stopper is situated at an inner position in the vehicle width direction than the support portion of the attachment surface portion. Accordingly, the side chassis structure according to Patent Document 2 may have functions of distributing a collision load, easily deforming the brackets and withstanding a shock of the hood being closed even though the front end portion of the fender panel is situated at an outer side in the vehicle width direction than the front end portion of the apron reinforcement member.
There are a variety of vehicle designs. Among these designs, there is a structure in which a front end portion of a fender panel is situated near a front end portion of an apron reinforcement member. With regard to such a structure, there may be a too short vertical separation distance between the front end portions of the fender panel and the apron reinforcement member. In this case, an impact force which the colliding body receives from the hood may not be sufficiently absorbed by the bracket structure according to Patent Document 1 or 2.
With regard to a mechanism of impact force absorption by the bracket according to Patent Document 1 or 2, when a downward load acts on the bracket from above, buckling or crushing deformation happens to the leg portions. The impact force absorbing function of the bracket is dependent on the separation distance (deformation stroke) between the front end portions of the fender panel and the apron reinforcement member. If the deformation stroke (so-called vertical length of the bracket) is insufficient, the impact force is not sufficiently absorbed.